Dorkel Theatre
1013 E. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90021
1013 E. 7th Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90021
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Merryland Theatre, Columbia Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Opened by 1915 as the Merryland Theatre. It had closed by 1922 but had reopened by 1926 and was still open in 1932, but had closed by 1934. By 1941 it had reopened as the Dorkel Theatre and was one of many small independent theatres that once stood along the streets of Los Angeles. It remained open until at least the early-1950’s.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
Listed as the Columbia at 1013 E. 7th in the 1939 directory, so that’s another aka.
Operated as the Columbia through 1945 at least.
There’s another reference to the Merryland in 1930, per the LA Times, so it was probably the Merryland first, then changed to Columbia sometime in the thirties, and then lastly the unfortunately named Dorkel Theater, probably in the early forties.
Here is the 1930 LA Times ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2erxqx
Hard to imagine a movie theater in this depressing part of downtown. Things must have been very different back then.
Breaking news from Boxoffice magazine, January 1938:
Min Orthel is Columbia’s new cashier, replacing M.J. Dodge, who resigned last week to start a chicken ranch in Arcadia.
No, that’s probably the winner. I hope the ranch was a success.
A Merryland Theatre is listed at 1015 E. Seventh Street in the 1915 L.A. City Directory.
Picture of the Merryland Theatre in 1930, which had just been bought by the 27 yr old David A Miller.the previous owners having run it into the red,and was still showing silent movies,plus 5 Vaudeville acts once a week: View link
The 1922 Cahn-Leighton guide’s moving picture theaters section lists a house called the Maryland Theatre at 1015 E. 7th Street with the notation “OB”, meaning out of business. However, the same year’s L.A, City Directory lists the Merryland Theatre at the same address. The 1921 directory did list it as the Maryland, as did the 1920 directory. As it was listed as Merryland in the 1915 directory, I don’t know if Maryland was just an intermittent typo or was an actual aka, even if temporary, for this house.